I am among those who believe that the majority of Christian music written by authors still living is garbage. I am not opposed to new music; I just see precious little of it that qualifies as either good art or good theology. Conversely, when I look at older music of the church, from medieval times through the 19th century, I see that most of it is of good quality artistically and theologically. Therefore, old = good, and new = bad, correct? If you said “No,” put a gold star on your chart.

There is a lot of music that is entrenched in traditional churches that is far from excellent. Let’s face it, some of the old favorites are junk, every bit as bad as the worst new songs; yet they are loved by many as representative of that “old-time religion.” Consequently, I have decided to look at some of the “great Hymns” (some are not hymns, but Gospel Songs) and criticize them as I do contemporary Christian music. My intention is to encourage you to think about the words you sing, whether they are old or new. Traditional Tripe will be a semi-regular feature here until I run out of songs to critique or I get bored with it.

I have an old hymnal of unknown denominational origin that is a mix of Hymns and Gospel Songs of varying quality which will be my source at first. Also, I will accept suggestions of Hymns and Gospel Songs to examine. You can email those suggestions here. For this first installment, I have chosen one that is not too bad, but still raises questions: Breathe on Me, Breath of God.

Breathe on Me, Breath of God
Edwin Hatch, 1878

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Blend all my soul with Thine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with Thee the perfect life
Of Thine eternity.

Is this a good Hymn? My initial answer is “Yes.” It is a prayer for fellowship with God, sanctification, and eternal life in Heaven, all worthy desires.

My question is, what is this “breath of God?” If 2Timothy 3:16 is in mind, if we are thinking of Scripture as theopneustos (God-breathed), then this is a wonderful prayer in the spirit of Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…”

If not, and this is where I offend any charismatic readers, this is a load of mystical nonsense. If this is hands-in-the-air, eyes-closed, waiting-for-a-gust-of-Holy-Ghost-wind, then it is nothing more than baptized sentimentality.

I have always liked this hymn, but lacking a clear interpretation from the author, I have to give it a D for vagueness. I think it is a good enough hymn, but I would not want to sing it without defining the “breath of God” according to 2Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”